Peugeot’s CEO is open to the idea of a road-going version of its 9X8 Hypercar
Peugeot has chosen not to expand its high-performance PSE range beyond the hot 508, focusing instead on its drive towards full electrification.
That’s the status of the sporting brand, which stands for Peugeot Sport Engineered, according to company CEO Linda Jackson.
“To be honest we thought about [expanding the range] but then the prioritisation came into play and this is all about electrification,” she said. “The fact is we are investing, as Stellantis, €40 billion (£35bn) for electrification and Peugeot is a part of that. We will have a full electric car line-up by the end of this year where every model will have an electric version and you have to make your priorities.”
But Jackson did not rule out a performance car built on one of the modular EV platforms used across the Stellantis group, even if nothing is in the pipeline right now. “Who knows?” she said. “There is nothing certain. I’m not going to say we are going to launch something tomorrow, so don’t get your hopes up.”
Jackson was speaking in Imola, Italy, where she was monitoring the debut of Peugeot’s heavily evolved 2024 version of its 9X8 Hypercar in the World Endurance Championship. The WEC programme is Peugeot’s sole interest in motorsport and looks set to remain so, although Jackson appeared to have an open mind to the suggestion that an all-electric Pikes Peak mountain climb racer would make sense.
That’s also the case as for whether the brand needs to create a road-going model with a direct link to the 9X8 campaign and its complex four-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain.
“I’m not sure, it’s not certain, but we could do it,” said Jackson. “Do we need that or do we need to develop the technology on a wider range of cars? That’s under debate at the moment, we have got no decision. I think you can have a disparity [between the road and the race circuit]. At the end of the day this is all about building awareness, and also engineering and durability, which you can do without necessarily having a road car. It’s an interesting debate. I’m not saying we’re not going to have one.”
Jackson has previously said Peugeot would be open to building a 9X8 for the road, but only if a request came from a party willing to finance it. When asked if any such request had been made, she said: “Not that I’m aware of.”
